Category: Oddities

Accused Sony hacker dodges prison by destroying evidence

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I don’t condone the actions of hackers, but this was one smart dude. Todd M. Miller was suspected and accused of participating in the group that brought down Sony’s online game servers back in 2008. He potentially faced 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, both of which he dodged by destroying his machines and disposing of his hard drives before the FBI could come back with a search warrant.

He was, however, sentenced to a year of house arrest, three years of probation, and ordered to complete a high-school equivalent certificate for obstructing a federal investigation. That’s a much better deal than he would’ve gotten if he was proven guilty in the hacking case.

The judge, who presided over the 28-year-old’s case, said that he could ‘see no sense’ in sentencing him to prison since Miller had a troubled childhood and now had a stable job. Miller admitted in court that he was “immature and ignorant and caught up with the wrong people at the wrong time,” and that “[the judge] would never see [Miller] again.”

Boy band sings about indie games, is full of win

Boy bands and indie games—oh my! But that’s what’s happening in New Zealand: Viva La Dirt League, a boy-band parody group, has released an excellent music video extolling the virtues of buying indie games. It’s funny, awesome, and ultimately too cool for the Internet.

Also, fursuits. Enough said. Enjoy.

Gatsby video game offers commentary on the American Dream

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The Great Gatsby was an immaculate commentary on the American Dream. If that’s true, then Slate’s The Great Gatsby: The Video Game continues this as a commentary on the nihilistic nature of videogame narratives. Or something academic-sounding like that.

In short, this game is an interesting take on this quote that typifies the American Dream in a rather succinct manner:

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning——

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Behead yourself with this cool Oculus Rift experiment

Oculus Rift technology is quite amazing, and it’s only going to get better in the future. It’s currently the best way to immerse a player into a game, which is something that’s been taken to a new level by an experiment.

Disunion is a guillotine simulator that was created over two days as part of the Exile Game Jam. As you can see in the video below, players kneel down with their head over a block and are “beheaded” with spectators watching.

It’s a very cool use of Oculus Rift technology, giving gamers an idea of just what can be done with it. Check out the Exile Game Jam website for more information.

Unlock the land of cupcakes and rainbows in Diablo 3

Blizzard’s sense of humor shines through once again. A secret Diablo 3 level has been found. It’s dubbed Whimsyshire and makes fun of those who complained that the game was too colorful. It also harkens back to Diablo 2’s secret cow level.

As you have already understood by now, Whimsyshire is a bright green, happy cartoon world of ponies, cupcakes, fluffy clouds, rainbows, and other things that make me puke.

Check out the video below. This page on DiabloWiki explains how to get there.

Wear Resident Evil 5 On Your Wrist

414970ps_500h Love it or hate it, but Resident Evil 5 is here to stay. And if you’re in the former group, you’ll love the fact that you can have a memento of the game on your hands almost all the time – Gamestation is now taking preorders for the Resident Evil 5 watch which is fully endorsed by Capcom.

There will only be 555 watches made (and they are all numbered) from reinforced mineral lens, screw down crown, matt black dial, white luminous hands and more.

The watch will be presented in an RE5 display box and will be released on July 31 for £119.99.

FEAR 2 Being Advertised on Cats

it_photo_111421_26 Bizarre publicity stunts are nothing new in the games industry, but this is quite different: Warner Bros. is advertising F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin on black cats prowling around London.

Branded a ‘cat-vertising campaign’, the specially trained cats sport FEAR 2 cat clothing, and roam the streets of London. Warner hopes that the creepy cats will capture the attention of superstitious passersby, and since it was Friday the 13th…

“Every day people are bombarded with so many advertising messages that it can be easy to miss them,” said a WB spokesperson. “With our research telling us that Brits are actively looking out for signs of bad luck this Friday, it makes perfect sense to try and capture their attention that way.”

You can find more pictures on Electric Pig.